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NASB | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished)." [Josh 24:15] |
Subject: How long is a Biblical Generation ? |
Bible Note: Hi Searcher, You make a good point when you stress that Isaac was born when Abraham was one hundred. However we also have to take into account the previous longevity of the patriarchs. To us if someone lives to 100 we are amazed. To them it was second nature. Seeing 40 as signifying 'a generation' would not of course mean that everyone was born at 40. It was an average, and quite possibly based on the period God allotted for the passing of the wilderness generation (Numbers 14.33), who would die out one by one. The actual real length of a generation in most cases was probably around 25. It is interestimg how often 40 occurs. It was the stated age at which the patriarchs took wives (Isaac - Gen 25.20; Esau - Gen 26.34). It was the stated age when Caleb was sent to spy out the land (Josh 14.7). It was regularly the length of the period of rest in Judges (Judges 3.11; 5.31; 8.28). It was the stated period of Philistine oppression (Judges 13.1). Eli judged Israel for 'forty years' (1 Sam 4.18). The aim in these cases may well have been to indicate 'a generation'. Ishbosheth was forty years old when he began to reign (2 Sam 2.10). David reigned for 'forty years' (2 Sam 5.4; 2.11). It was 'after 40 years' that Absalom decided to rebel (2 Sam 15.7). Solomon reigned in Jerusalem for 'forty years' (1 Kings 11.42). All this suggests that at this time 'forty' was a round figure, possibly indicating a generation. Best wishes |